Dumbledore's Mistake Rejected
by turayza
Summary: AU! The wizarding world thinks Neville is their hero. Summary will be edited in order not to spoil the plot. Pairings TBD, no slash. This version has been abandoned because it was a dead end. If you are interested, see Dumbledore’s Mistake v. 2.0.
1. Dumbledore's Mistake

_5 June 2008 A/N: Hello! I received inspiration for this because I was very, very bored in school. Also, I couldn't find any good non-slash AUs and just had to write one. Hope you enjoy it. Also, if you have any suggestions for pairings, please comment._

Summary:

AU! The wizarding world thinks Neville is their hero. Summary will be edited in order not to spoil the plot.

**Chapter One**

Glitteringly sparkly enchanted orange jack-o-lanterns hovered about in the air, traveling throughout the quiet Godric's Hollow. Each pretty little white-picket-fence house was decorated in a bit to outdo its neighbors. In one particularly extravagantly festive house, two families were joined in celebration.

The Potters and the Longbottoms, two pureblood light families, celebrated Halloween in the Potter Manor. The enormous manor's hallways were strewn with orange and black confetti, and each room had jerkily flying candy charmed to mob any entrant to the room.

Cheery laughter floated from the large living room as the youngest Potter, Harry, and the youngest Longbottom, Neville, had a good-natured candy fight.

The one-year-old Harry Potter and Neville Longbottom sat side-by-side, giggling as they gobbled up chocolate frogs, sugar quills, orange and black jelly beans, and many more sugary confections. Lily Potter and Alice Longbottom sat on a couch behind their sons, chatting about the going-ons of the social elite. James Potter and Frank Longbottom sat across each other over a forgotten game of chess, lost in a heated debate over Quidditch teams and the Wizarding Stock Market.

Over the din of their chatter, no one heard the protective wards falling. It wasn't until the intruders tripped the alarm that the Potters and Longbottoms noticed, and by then it was much too late. With a bang, the front door was blasted out of existence. Alice and Frank Longbottom rushed to confront the cloaked and masked figures as James and Lily Potter tried to rush the two children upstairs.

"Crucio!" A cackling Death Eater said madly, her cruelly grinning mouth all that you could see of her covered face. From behind the white mask, her eyes glinted with blood lust as she shot the unforgivable at Alice Longbottom.

"No! Don't touch her!" Frank yelled, pushing Alice out of the way. It was, unfortunately, too late.

"Heehee. Too bad she's gone. Your turn!" the witch said, cackling. Alice Longbottom had lost her mind to the cruciatius, and Frank Longbottom would soon follow.

Meanwhile, the Potters had carried Harry and Neville into a hidden room that Lily had made several years ago. The room's entrance was behind a small porcelain vase, and the door was child-sized and warded with a multitude of dark-repellant spells. Hearing the stomping footsteps of Death Eaters, James Potter whirled around and tried to lead the Death Eaters away.

"Avada Kedavra", Voldemort said calmly, after easily deflecting the 'stupefy' James had shot at him. James Potter slumped down as soon as the jet of green hit him, dead.

Unknowing of her husband's very recent death, Lily Potter shoved Neville into the little alcove. Neville was scratched by a pair of two nails sticking out, which gave him a small but deep x-shaped scar on his cheek. Before Lily could hide Harry, Voldemort appeared before her.

"Move away, mudblood", he said, sniffing disdainfully. "You may live to see another day."

"No!" Lily cried out, sobbing. "Don't kill Harry! Kill me instead!"

Lily threw herself out in front of her son with her arms spread out.

With a brief 'Avada Kedavra', Lily Potter was dead.

"Foolish girl…Avada Kedavra!" Voldemort said, pointing his wand at Harry. The jet of green light shot towards the one-year-old's head…and was absorbed by a glowing golden orb of light. The light grew in intensity until Voldemort was forced to turn away. All of a sudden, the light shot a burst of green towards Voldemort and Voldemort was gone.

As the light faded, Harry began to laugh, thinking the colorful lights were pretty and happy. He poked his mother's corpse curiously, and sat down looking slightly upset, knocking over and shattering the porcelain vase.

Neville peeked out nervously from his hiding place and grabbed Harry's shirt, alerting Harry to his presence. The two sat in silence, as if waiting for their parents to return and shout 'Happy Halloween!'

Loud disruptions filled the house as the Order charged in. Upon reaching them, a horrified Remus Lupin scooped up the children and apparated them to Order headquarters.

--

Dumbledore regarded the children with a frown. One of them had most definitely defeated Voldemort that night. Both of the boys suited the prophecy. Why did he, Dumbledore, always have the difficult decisions to make? Dumbledore stared at the two for a while more, examining the x-shaped scar and comparing it to the lightning bolt shaped one. Both scars were deep and reeked of magic. Finally, Dumbledore came upon a suitable theory and prepared to tell the world.

--

The Order sat around a massive circular table. All the pairs of eyes were facing Dumbledore, expecting important news. The whole Order had been called that night. Dumbledore, smiling grimly, announced,

"Voldemort has been defeated!" Then, holding up Neville Longbottom, Dumbledore added, "And this child was the one who did it!"

The members of the Order burst into cheers and they immediately went to crowd Dumbledore and Neville. A din broke out as people cried, laughed, questioned, and much more. Many rejoicing Order members left to spread the good news. Neville was coined the nickname "The Boy-Who-Lived", and Harry was left, forgotten, by all but Dumbledore.

--

Dumbledore held two little squirming bundles. One was Neville Longbottom, the Boy-Who-Lived, and the other, Harry Potter, was a newly made orphan.

Dumbledore flooed Augusta Longbottom, Neville's grandmother, and handed the hero of the wizarding world to the shocked witch. Smiling sympathetically for Augusta's loss and congratulating her for Neville's achievements, Dumbledore bid her goodbye and apparated to Private Drive.

--

The aged wizard with a long, white beard and bespeckled glasses held up the small bundle that was Harry Potter. They had appeared in a very ordinary looking neighborhood filled with very ordinary looking houses.

With a wave of his wand, Dumbledore blacked out the neighborhood. He slowly approached one of the very ordinary looking houses, pausing only when he stood right before the door.

Giving Harry Potter one final, slightly sorrowful glance, Dumbledore, set the little bundle down and disappeared.


	2. Meeting Draco

_6 June 2008 A/N: Many thanks to all the people who added/reviewed:_

_-drdeth2000_

_-jabarber69 : Though right now you might think Dumbledore is an absolute moron, you'll see why he did what he did later on. After all, Dumbledore is the greatest wizard of his time—how could he make such a mistake?_

_-LadyGaelen_

_-Darkveelia88_

_-Relvain Jenafuse_

_-phoenixi77_

_-Ryukpet_

_-Destenys Angel Pyra_

_-Isebas_

_-Tiffany's Hogwarts Secrets_

_-pacific.coast : Yes, the beginning is a bit rushed. This is because it's just boring background information that is needed only so the rest of the story makes sense. I'll try to slow down the pace a bit—if you think it's still rushed, please tell me._

_Oh yes—I'm going to try for 3000+ word chapters from now on. However, if you prefer short chapters (and tell me this, as I'm not psychic), I'll keep the chapters shorter. On the other hand, if you like massive, 7000 word chapters, tell me that too. XP Enjoy!_

**Chapter Two**

_Seven years later (Harry is 8 years old)_

"OUT! GET OUT!" Vernon Dursley yelled, glaring at his freak of a nephew. "I'VE HAD ENOUGH OF YOUR ODDNESS! NOW GET OUT!"

Harry scampered out the front door with wide eyes, his right hand clutching his left arm where his uncle had struck him. Running as quickly as he could, Harry began to cry as he ran, thinking of all the terrible things he wished he could do to his bloody uncle.

Tiring from the sprinting, Harry stopped at a park and sat heavily on a bench, wondering what he could do. He had nowhere to go, no money, and could do absolutely nothing. What would happen to him? Harry definitely didn't want to be picked up by an orphanage—all the books he had read about orphanages had depicted the places as dreadfully horrid. Thus, Harry got up, and kept walking.

--

Harry had walked for hours. The sun had long since left the sky, and the night brought with darkness a chill that sunk deep below Harry's skin, leaving him shivering miserably. Harry finally reached a shopping district, the same one the Dursleys had brought him to when they were shopping for Dudley's birthday presents.

Spotting a loud, warm-looking pub with a large banner proclaiming it the 'Leaky Cauldron,' Harry scurried into the building and hoped he might be able to stay for a bit.

Inside the Leaky Cauldron were many very odd-looking people that Harry thought were slightly insane. They were all very strange, dressed in a multitude of colored robes and cloaks. Each odd-looking person carried a stick, which were each nicely polished and powerful-looking. The odd people within the pub had conversations about equally odd things, things that Harry had never heard of before, such as 'Quidditch', 'Gringotts', and 'muggles.'

It being quite late, the pub was mostly filled with adults. Harry hid in a darkened corner, wondering what he should do (as he warmed up a bit). Feeling tired, Harry was about to doze off right when someone tapped him on the shoulder and rudely asked, "Who are you?"

Whirling around in shock, Harry turned to find his botherer a blonde haired, snooty looking boy about his age. The boy sniffed and stared at Harry a bit.

"Are you deaf or something? I did ask you a question."

Harry opened and shut his mouth a few times in disbelief.

"I- um, I'm Harry. Harry Potter", he said, holding his hand out for the blonde to shake.

"Draco. Draco Malfoy. Good to know that you're a Potter, and not some random, filthy mudblood", Draco replied, taking Harry's hand. Draco's mouth curved up into a small smile. "Come with me, I would like you to meet my father."

Harry followed Draco obediently, thinking that whatever happened to him couldn't place him in a situation worse than the one he was in at the time. Meanwhile, he was wondering what mudbloods were, and whether or not the name Potter had some other meaning.

Draco and Harry stopped in front of a tall, aristocratic man with long, white-blonde hair.

"Oh? And who is this, Draco?" the man asked, his eyes on Harry.

"Father, this is my friend, Harry Potter. I found him in the Leaky Cauldron."

Harry, a bit taken aback, gaped at Draco. He seemed to have missed an important situation where he and Draco had suddenly become friends.

"Ah…I see. And Harry, where are your parents?" The elder Malfoy asked, looking down upon Harry.

"D-dead. I mean, my parents are dead", Harry said, fidgeting uncomfortably. With the Dursleys, he was forbidden to talk to any adults and felt the sudden influx of attention slightly uncomfortable.

"Are you alone, then?"

"Er, yeah. My uncle got kind of mad…I got kicked out…they don't like my freakiness much…" Harry said trailing off as a mixture of anger and sorrow filled him.

Draco's eyes widened when he heard this.

"What do you mean, your freakiness?" Draco demanded, angry on Harry's behalf.

"Well, um, weird stuff. Like, weird things happen when I'm upset or angry. Er…stuff like once, where my hair grew back overnight even though it was practically shaved off the day before. And like…well, weird stuff. I swear I didn't do it! I don't know why it happens! It just does. And they don't like it."

Harry looked down at the floor in shame, recalling the many punishments he had received because of his so-called freakiness.

"That's accidental magic, you dolt. What were you raised by, muggles?" Draco scoffed.

"Er…what?" Harry looked at Draco oddly, confusion flitting across his face.

"Magic? You know? Oh god, you really were raised by muggles, weren't you?" Draco stared at Harry for a good while, and Harry looked away, feeling self-conscious.

"Father?" Draco asked, cutting into Harry's little moment of self pity. "Can we bring him home?"

Harry's head snapped up, a hopeful look on his face.

"Harry is a person, not a pet, Draco. I would be alright with it, but I believe you need to ask him first," Lucius Malfoy replied, his mouth pressed into a thin line.

"Harry! Do you want to come home with me? I mean, since you've got nowhere to go…"

"I'd love that! Thanks." Harry smiled shyly at Draco, and Draco grinned in return.

--

After a long day of wandering about and introductions to the paraphernalia of the wizarding world, Lucius Malfoy took Harry and Draco to Malfoy Manor. The manor was a massive piece of architecture that was all perfectly straight lines, and perfectly orderly design. The perfectly rectangular manor sat in the middle of a perfectly square plot. The lawn was immaculately cared for, and the most direct path from the black iron gates to the manor's front door was rimmed by roses of all sorts. If one viewed the Manor from above, one would see the perfect grass of the lawn dotted by large circles of flowers planted in patterns. The Manor itself was massive. Its walls were a slightly grayish white color that seemed clean, but not outstanding. The only part that stuck out from its rectangular form was a curved balcony that topped the half-circle shaped porch to the front door. And the door itself was massive—suitable for a person two times the height of Hagrid—and decorated with simple, clean lines of artistry.

Upon seeing Malfoy Manor, Harry's mouth dropped open and he stared, taking in the splendor of the place. Draco pulled him along, and they entered the Manor.

Entering through the front door, Harry was struck by how uncomfortable the inside looked. He thought he should have expected it, however, after looking at how well kept the exterior was. The walls were pristinely bleached a slightly off-white color, and a massive spiral staircase led up out of his vision. The floor was a slightly speckled white marble.

"Draco, show our guest around. You know where you can and can not go," Lucius commanded, nodding to Harry. He then whooshed away up the stairs and left Harry and Draco standing in the silent first room which Harry silently dubbed the White Room.

"Alright! Let's go. First, I'll show you the normal rooms," Draco replied, leading Harry away from the staircase.

"This is our living room," Draco said as he brought Harry into a massive, dark room. The lighting was fine, Harry thought, but everything was decorated with deep green drapery. Though the dark green couches appeared more comfortable than the stiff wooden chairs that were in the White Room, everything still felt untouchable to him. Grinning conspiratorially, Draco whispered to Harry, "Father likes to bring people here to scare them." After that little comment, Harry looked around more carefully (and a bit nervously too).

"This is the dining room," Draco announced, showing Harry a very formal-looking room that was decorated with shades of dark blue. Light specks of silver surfaces throughout. A long table stretched across the room with many expensive looking chairs neatly placed around it—thirty or so, Harry thought.

Draco showed Harry room after room and Harry was beginning to wonder where the Malfoys lived (as each room seemed more uncomfortable than the next) until Draco brought Harry upstairs.

"You see, our house is really light and dark. The dark part is all in the front. I think father likes scaring people. But up and in the back, it's all comfy and nice. Oh yeah, don't go to the third floor—even_ I'm_ not allowed up there. If you see mother, just nod and smile. She'll fuss over you like crazy, so avoid her like the plague. Which room do you like the best? What do you want to do now? Ooh! I haven't shown you my room!" Draco babbled eagerly, practically bouncing up and down after the excitement of having been with someone his age for nearly a day.

"Draco, I believe you should show Harry his room first," Lucius said, coming down a set of smallish, hidden stairs from the third floor.

"Oh yeah," Draco said, grinning sheepishly. "C'mon!"

Harry obediently followed Draco (again) and was brought into a long, regal hallway that was decorated with many paintings.

Out of the corner of his eye, Harry spotted what he thought was movement. Harry twitched and turned to look at what moved, only to find that he was facing a blonde Malfoy ancestor who frowned condescendingly down at him. Gasping, Harry stuttered out, "D-Draco! The painting moved!"

Draco stared at Harry oddly, pausing for a moment.

"Of course it did. Haven't you see seen a painting move before?" Draco asked incredulously.

"I- well- I was raised by muggles, remember?" Harry grimaced, feeling stupid.

"Oh right, I forgot again. That's okay. Well then, I'll just have to show you the world of magic, huh?" Draco replied nonchalantly.

"Um, okay?"

"Off to your room then!" Draco said, pushing Harry forward.

The room Harry was given was quite large, about two or three times the size of the Dursley's second bedroom (and Harry had thought that large, especially compared to the cupboard under the stairs). The whole room was, in general, a silverish color. There was a huge, floor to ceiling window that made up one wall, and the other three were painted with blue and silver swirls. The door they had entered by had a partner on the opposite wall, one that Draco explained led to a private restroom. There was also a walk-in closet that was much larger on the inside than the outside. (Draco said that all the rooms and closets and spaces of the Manor were magically enlarged, whatever that meant). In the corner was a very large four-poster bed with dark blue sheets and silverish pillows. The lush carpet was a silver-flecked blue color. A simple but elegant desk was in another corner with a neatly placed stack of parchment, an ink bottle, and several quills.

Walking into the bathroom, he discovered a white-marbled floor with an equally white-marbled counter in front of a mirror. Flawless off-white porcelain made up the sink and bathtub, each with a hissing stone snake as the faucet, and two stone dragon's wings as the tabs. A little door revealed the toilet, which had, to the side, silver toilet paper. A small, bottomless silver basket was identified by Draco as the wastebasket.

"The room is amazing! Thank you so much for letting me stay here, Draco," Harry started.

"It's fine! You're making such a big deal out of nothing. And I haven't shown you my room yet. Oh yeah. If you want to put in anything--like a bookshelf, a mirror, whatever, just tell me or father, alright?" Draco replied.

"O-oh, okay," Harry said, still slightly amazed by the splendor of the Malfoy residence.

Draco took Harry into a ridiculously messy room. However, after looking carefully, he discovered that Draco's room was very much like his new one--except with dark green rather than dark blue. Draco also had a multitude of random things piled in a multitude of random places; a broomstick on top of his desk, a potions cauldron in the bathtub...Draco's room also had several very-filled bookshelves on a large variety of topics.

An ugly-looking short-ish creature appeared to Harry's left with a nasty popping sound. The "creature had large, bat-like ears and bulging green eyes the size of tennis balls." (CoS, Rowling) It was wearing what appeared to be an extremely filthy tea cozy, or maybe an ancient pillowcase.

"What on earth is that?" Harry exclaimed, startled by the ugly thing.

"Oh, just a House Elf. That's Dobby, I think," Draco said, staring at the creature. "What is it?"

"Mistress told Dobby to send you down, sir. Mistress says dinner is ready, sir, and to go down," Dobby squeaked nervously, bowing as he went.

"Oh. Dismissed, then," Draco replied, sending Dobby popping away with the wave of his hand.

"Alright Harry, are you ready to meet Mother? Just nod and smile, and she'll leave you alone...I think." Draco said, smiling. "Let's go!"

On the way down the stairs to the first floor, Harry's foot sunk into a staircase (How had that happened? The staircase was, well, a staircase! One's foot simply does not sink into staircases) and Draco had to pull Harry out.

"Sorry about that, Harry, I'd forgotten all about it. Some old, ancient and long-dead Malfoy decided that it would be funny if guests were stuck every time they stepped on that stair, and anyone without Malfoy blood or who isn't warded in to the Manor wards will be stuck," Draco explained, an amused smirk on his face. "Just remember to jump over it next time, and you should be fine."

Right before they reached the dining room, Draco and Harry heard a woman's voice yell out.

"What did you think you were doing, bringing home a _Potter_? You know very well just how much our families do not mix. The Potters were our greatest enemy during the war! How could you? What do you think people will say of us, of me? Bringing a Potter boy into our home--"

"Narcissa. Please stop," Harry could hear Lucius say. "The boy wasn't even raised by his parents. If I remember correctly, his parents were killed on the same day the Dark Lord fell. Anyways, it wasn't my decision--it was Draco's wish to bring him home, and I didn't see any reason to object."

"You didn't see any reason why it wouldn't be a bad idea? What? Lucius! Simply being a Potter is a good enough reason! I don't want a Potter around my son. And just because Drakey wanted it doesn't mean you should have given it to him. You're spoiling him too much this time--I want you to take the Potter boy away," Narcissa replied with a note of finality.

"Absolutely not, Narcissa," Lucius replied, with just as much finality. "Harry Potter is our guest, and we will be treating him as such. And I truly doubt he will be a bad influence on Draco--Potter has been living under the care of muggles," Lucius gagged, "for the majority of his life. If we take him in, we shall be able to prevent the loss of a pureblood wizard to the influence of muggle-lovers."

"Fine," Narcissa said, scowling. "If that's the way you want things, then we'll mold him to become the most Malfoy-like Potter the world has ever seen. He might even be an asset... Imagine Dumbledore's face when Harry Potter, from a famously light family, turns away from him in favor of us." Narcissa grinned and settled upon this idea, feeling as if her 'loss' wasn't quite a loss at all.

Thinking Narcissa and Lucius were likely done, Draco ushered Harry into the dining room.

"Mother," Draco immediately started, "this is Harry Potter. Father and I found him alone in Diagon Alley, and so we brought him home."

"Yes dear," Narcissa replied, "your father has informed me already. Sit down, now. We can talk over a bit of food."

Lucius sat at the head of the table while Narcissa sat pristinely to his side. One chair down, Harry and Draco sat across from each other. The rest of the extremely long table was left ridiculously empty. Narcissa clapped twice, and table settings appears. She clapped again, and menus appeared.

"Just say the item and it will appear," Draco whispered to Harry.

Experimenting, Harry mumbled "roast duck" and a small portion of brownish stuff appeared of his plate. Fascinated, Harry began to eat.

"Tell me, Harry, exactly why were you in Diagon Alley alone yesterday?" Narcissa cut in, staring at Harry.

"Um, well, my uncle--"

"Speak up and don't mumble," Narcissa said before Harry could continue.

"Oh, uh, anyways, my uncle kicked me out of their house--"

"_Their_ house? What do you mean by _their_ house? Who is you uncle, anyways?" Narcissa cut in again.

"Er, well, my aunt and uncle are muggles, and they don't really like me much..." Harry trailed off, fidgeting on his chair. Why were things so difficult to explain? He was simply removed from the house, and had no place to live.

"Anyways, they didn't want me anymore, and so I wandered around. And it was kind of cold last night...so when I reached the Leaky Cauldron, which was the only store still open on the street, I went in. No one noticed though, at least until Draco found me," Harry babbled, trying to finish his story before being interrupted. 'Ha!' he thought, 'she didn't get me this time!'

"I see..." Narcissa said condescendingly. "Idiot muggles. Well, you're fine now, aren't you?"

"Um, yeah. Thanks to Draco and Mr. Malfoy." Harry grinned. "Thanks to you, too."

"You're completely welcome, Harry," Lucius replied before Narcissa could say anything. "So Harry, do you have any interests?"

"Er...I like to read?" Harry replied, confused by the switch in topic.

"Quidditch! Harry, do you play Quidditch?" Draco asked, suddenly charged with excitement.

"..." Harry stared at Draco blankly. "What's Quidditch?"

"It's only the best game in the world," Draco replied, looking slightly insulted. "You play on broomsticks. You see, there are seven people on each team. There are three chasers, who are responsible for tossing the Quaffle around and trying to make a goal. There is one keeper, whose job is to guard the hoops and not let the chasers shoot the Quaffle through the hoops; two beaters, who swing their awfully hard bats at nasty little balls called bludgers and try to knock people of the other team unconscious (and protect their own team, of course, but knocking people unconscious is so much more fun); and there is a seeker, who looks for the golden snitch, a little flying thing that flits around really quickly that..."

Harry tried to make sense of Draco's excited babble and listened to Draco chatter on and on about Quidditch, Quidditch teams, and practically anything related to Quidditch. Very quickly, dinner had passed (as well as desert) and Lucius and Narcissa excused themselves (after telling the boys not to sleep to late).

"Draco, can you teach me how to play Quidditch?" Harry asked, hooked on the game after listening to nearly an hour of Draco's explanations.

"Of course! Tomorrow then, if it's sunny. Alright?" Draco replied, glad to have found someone who could play with him.

"Alright. I guess we should go to bed, eh?" Harry said, happy that he had found someone who cared about him, or at least treated him as an equal.

Harry and Draco made their ways up to their rooms, and the two exhausted eight-year-olds sank into blissful sleep as soon as their heads touched their pillows.

_6 June 2008 A/N: Ha! I made it to 3500 words! Lol. Anyways, this chapter came up very quickly (I had quite a large amount of free time) and so here it is. This is my first real try at a continous fanfic story, so please tell me if I could improve in any way at all. The first few chapters will be kind of boring and a general setting-up of the rest, so bear with me for a while. Thanks for reading!_


	3. Harry's 9th Birthday

_6 June 2008 A/N: Hello! I'm trying to update before next week, when I've got finals. You won't be seeing me at all then, so I'll try to make up for it now. How are the chapter lengths? And thanks to the following for either reviewing or adding:_

_-panther73110_

_-BrightFeather_

_-Mooglething: Sirius Black is still convicted but innocent. I decided that messing with his role would take too much thinking. (heh) And I'll be adding in little twists, so I'm not too sure about the little side adventures Harry will be having. Keep in mind that Draco and Harry are, at this point, still eight years old—I didn't think Draco would be too uptight at that age. I'm trying not to follow the Lucius/Narcissa stereotypes (either Lucius or Narcissa is an excellent or a horrible parent) while maintaining the attitude they held in canon. Let's just say both parents love Draco very much, but show it in…interesting ways._

_-jabarber69: Well, you'll have to keep on reading to find out, huh. P_

_-munchnzoey: Thanks._

_-koldy_

_7 June 2008 A/N: I've received several comments to slow down a bit and pay attention to detail. I'll try to do that, but you probably won't notice my effort until I get better at writing this (heh). Thanks to the following for reviewing or adding:_

_-Yunaine_

_-Tiffany's Hogwarts Secrets: I'll try not to fall into any already-used plot lines. Keeping in mind the strictness of Augusta Longbottom, I'm guessing that 'my' Neville will be much more balanced than canon Neville, but not a spoilt brat, either._

_-Ivy: Thanks for pointing those out. I don't reread my chapters (gasp!) but I'll do that in the future. I was too excited about posting (hehheh)._

_8 June 2008 A/N: I'm finishing today! Promise! Oh yeah, and I posted a one-shot. If you click on my name and visit my profile page, it's called "A Sentimental Side". (If you'd like to read that). Thanks to:_

_-_ _pacific.coast: Yeah, the characters are definitely different—keep in mind, however, that this is an AU. With the exception of majorly changed characters (Harry, Draco, Neville) everyone else should stay mostly the same as their canon counterparts. And all comments are appreciated, so don't think yours aren't helpful._

**Chapter Three**

Draco Malfoy and Harry Potter had, over the course of nearly a year, become very good friends. One could almost say that they were as close as brothers. Almost every day, the moment they woke up they would hurriedly eat breakfast, then rush out to the back yard to play Quidditch, or just fly about on their brooms. Thrice a week, a tutor would come in to teach Draco magical theory and general wizarding need-to-know things, and Harry would listen in and participate in the lessons. Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy had become somewhat fond of Harry as well, and treated him like another son. Every now and then, Lucius would take Harry and Draco to places such as wizarding zoos and Quidditch games. Narcissa, in turn, would take the two to Diagon Alley, Hogsmeade, and other shopping centers—visits that Harry soon grew to like, as all they did there was chatter while Narcissa picked out items for them. Slowly, the bond between Harry and the Malfoys grew stronger and stronger.

On June 31st, Harry's ninth birthday, the Malfoys had a large party with many of their friends—exactly the same thing they did for Draco several months prior.

The day started out ordinarily, with Harry and Draco waking up and rushing down the stairs (Harry hopping over the trick step) to hurriedly consume their breakfast. Draco grinningly said happy birthday to Harry, who had completely forgotten about the special day.

"So Harry, how does it feel to be nine years old?" Draco questioned, smirking slightly.

"Well…since I've only been nine for a very short amount of time, I can't really answer that. I suppose being nine makes me feel old. Like, wrinkled and crippled old. But I'm sure you would know—after all, you've been nine for much longer," Harry retorted, grinning back. "I wonder what will happen today? I've never celebrated my birthday before."

Draco gasped in shock as he stared at Harry in horror. "How could you have never celebrated your birthday? It's practically the most important day of the year! With the exception of Christmas and Halloween, of course. But to have never had been the center of a celebration that was completely about you—that's horrible! I really think your life was terrible."

"It was…good thing I met you, huh. I'm really lucky, I think," Harry replied thoughtfully. "Do you think your parents have planned anything?"

"Maybe. They're always up to something, but for the past few weeks Mother always looks guilty when I go up to the owlery and Father always hides whatever he is doing when I go to talk to him. Maybe they've got a surprise or something?" Draco replied, thinking back to the odd behavior of his parents.

Harry's eyes glinted a little as he said, "that would be wonderful. I still can't thank you all enough for taking me in. It makes me feel very…loved. And appreciative, but mostly loved."

"Aw…Harry has a majorly sentimental side! We're doomed! The next thing we know, Bellatrix Lestrange will break out of prison and announce that Sirius Black is innocent!" Draco exclaimed, laughing at Harry's moment of mushiness.

"Shut up, Draco. I was trying to be grateful, and you mock me for it," Harry said, mock glaring at Draco.

Still laughing, Draco ran off in another direction, leaving a slightly annoyed birthday boy standing alone.

--

_That night_

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY!" Draco yelled out from a crowd as Harry walked in to the living room. Many of the adults laughed softly at Draco's antics, and several more laughed at Harry's expression.

The living room was absolutely swarming with people. Each one was decked out in jewelry and wearing expensive dress robes. Harry recognized quite a few from Draco's birthday party (of which he was proud of, because the party to him had been a whirlwind of introductions), but there were also a good number of people Harry was pretty sure he had never seen before.

"Happy birthday, Harry," said one witch, shaking his hand.

"Happy birthday," a man said, congratulating him.

Harry was whisked about from one pureblood to another, and was confronted by many variations upon 'Happy Birthday'.

Self-refilling platters of food were piled prettily on two long tables that spread from one end of the room to the other. Beautifully decorated goblets of a variety of drinks, including firewhiskey, pumpkin juice, and butterbeer, would appear on floating boards in the air.

Every now and then the great front doors of the Manor would open to even more guests. The pile of presents by the main fireplace grew as guests arrived, flooing in with a puff of green smoke.

Harry headed towards Lucius Malfoy (avoiding all the well-wishers). Lucius was talking to a tall-ish man with oily looking hair and a prominently hooked Roman nose, and their discussion seemed more than a little lively. The wizard, who was wearing a big black cloak, waved his arm around as he 'yelled' in harsh whispers while sneaking looks at Harry. Lucius, on the other hand, looked calm and prepared for all the questions, answering them evenly and disregarding the wizard's rantings.

"Lucius, thanks for all of this," Harry said upon reaching Lucius. "This is amazing. I can't thank you enough for this, and your taking care of me for the past year."

Lucius looked at Harry fondly, but brushed off some lint from Harry's dress robes and told him to stand up straight.

"Harry, you can consider yourself part of the family. We will support you as long as you wish to stay with us," Lucius replied warmly.

"Thanks," Harry said with a smile. He turned to the other wizard and asked, "who are you?"

"I," the oily haired and grumpy looking wizard replied, "am Severus Snape. Pleased to make your acquaintance," Snape said, not looking pleased to see him in the least.

"Likewise, sir. Apologies for interrupting your…conversation. Please excuse me," Harry said, nodding to Snape and backing away.

Harry spent another hour or so wandering around the first floor and being accosted by witches and wizards wishing him a happy birthday. It was, generally speaking, quite a boring hour, as it was filled with taking several steps in one direction, being bothered for a few minutes, then taking another few steps, and being bothered again, and another few steps…let's just say that it was a considerably long and pointless process.

During that hour, Harry munched on all matter of deserts and even dared to try a sip of firewhiskey, though the burning he received down his throat was enough to dissuade him from ever drinking the reddish liquid again.

Thinking that, if he met one more person, he would explode and start bashing his head against the marble floor, Harry snuck upstairs to hide from the crowd. He peeked out from behind the banisters, watching Narcissa talking excitedly with a group of witches and Lucius sweep around to talk to random globs of people. The guests were generally clumped in clusters, with obvious distinctions—one cluster was completely female, and each witch was practically staggering under the weight of the amount of precious metals and rocks they had on. Add on the extravagant dress robes they were wearing, and their over the top makeup—the witches looked most definitely wealthy, but mindless as well.

Another cluster, one that was mostly male but had several witches scattered throughout, wore very simple but expensive dress robes—the type one would wear to a Ministry event. The members of this cluster seemed to be at the Manor for the simple purpose of striking business deals with other guests—a reasonable goal, especially because Lucius mingled among them for quite a while. (Harry guessed that Lucius earned more money through contracts during each social event than he spent on them—and Lucius spent a lot).

Then, there was a cluster of people who all seemed to dislike each other very much—Harry, listening carefully, could hear veiled insults. That particular cluster seemed to be competing for something…status, perhaps. The conversation was rather superficial.

"I do like your necklace very much…I have the same set, except mine is a real Guardovatch," one witch would say.

"You must be mistaken. My necklace was handmade by Farasay, whose pieces are so much more classy than Guardovatch's," the other would reply.

There were also scattered people who weren't in clusters throughout the room. Harry was trying to figure out why they were at his party at all when Draco poked him on the shoulder.

"Escaped, did you?" Draco asked, his mouth turned up in amusement.

"Yeah," Harry whispered back, glancing at the crowd. "And you shouldn't be laughing, you escaped too."

"Ah, but I'm not the birthday boy, am I?" Draco returned.

"Fine, point taken," Harry said. "Hey, do you know Snape? The oily-haired guy with the hooked nose?"

"Of course I do!" Draco laughed, "he's my godfather! Why, did you meet him?"

"Er, yeah. He doesn't seem to like me very much, and I have no idea why."

"I don't know either," Draco shrugged. "He's a bit stiff and suspicious of people in general, so don't take it personally."

"But…"

"_Stop_. You're just being silly. There will always be people in the world who don't like you. All you can do is be more powerful than them, and you need not worry about it at all," Draco said, sounding every bit like Lucius.

"Yes sir," Harry replied, bowing to Draco mockingly. "So, are you going to help me take over the world so I can ignore everyone who doesn't like me?"

"Of course! But I'm obviously going to be king," Draco replied smugly.

"What am I going to be then, queen?" Harry asked, laughing at the thought.

The two continued their plans for taking over the world as they chattered on late into the night, oblivious and happy in their naïveté and innocence.

_8 June 2008 A/N: Sorry about the short-ish chapter. I just thought this was a nice place to end it. Comments? Suggestions? I'm trying to think of a better title, but I don't want to give away the plot, either. Oh yeah--I need a beta! I think an outside look would help a lot, so if any of you readers beta (or know a good beta), please tell me. I'll try to post again maybe later today or tomorrow, but after that, you won't see me for a week. Toodles!_


	4. Hogwarts Letters

_8 June 2008 A/N: Thanks to:_

_-_ _panther73110: We'll see now, won't we?_

_-_ _Tiffany's Hogwarts Secrets: Thanks. D_

_-JaceH83_

_-Kirril: Thanks! In chapter two, Harry heard the whole argument but, as an oblivious eight year old (are eight year olds oblivious…?) didn't really care. He probably didn't understand either, as he wasn't raised as a Potter—he was raised as 'boy'._

_-odepotmike_

_-murray28764_

_-HarrySirius Fan_

_-dillon2_

**Disclaimer: I, 'turayza', do not own any of the mentioned characters, locations, spells or random ideas. They all belong to J. K. Rowling, and there is no copyright infringement intended.**

**Chapter Four: The Hogwarts Letters**

_Two Years Later (Draco and Harry are 11 years old)_

The bright morning sun rose the same way it did every single other day. Its vivid yellow rays promised scorching summery heat, just as it did the day before. Its light streamed through the windows of Harry Potter and Draco Malfoy's rooms, lighting up their darkly colored rooms brilliantly and disrupting their sleep.

Harry Potter rolled over and tried to ignore the blaring light.

Draco Malfoy grunted and covered his face with his pillow.

Harry rolled over and mumbled something resembling 'not yet, I'll do the dishes later.'

Draco whacked himself through the pillow.

Harry sat up abruptly, realizing what day it was.

Draco tried to bury his head in his blankets.

Harry hopped out of bed excitedly and rushed out of his room.

Draco was in the process of attempting to dig a hole in the mattress of his bed when Harry burst into his room hollering at him to wake up.

"DRACO! HAUL YOUR LAZY BUM OFF YOUR BED! Do you know what day it is? Do you? Do you?" Harry yelled excitedly, jumping on to Draco's bed and bouncing up and down, causing Draco to be bounced up and down as well.

"Leavemealone," Draco muttered from under his blankets and pillow. "Ineedmybeautysleep."

"Screw that, Draco! Our Hogwarts letters arrive today!" Harry shouted at Draco, tearing the layers of silky fabric over goose down off his friend. "WAKE UP!"

Draco slowly (agonizingly slowly) crawled to a sitting position. "You're evil," Draco said, wiping the fog of sleep from his eyes. "Why'd you wake me up?"

Harry stared at Draco in disbelief. "We. Get. Our. Letters. Today." Harry said, speaking as if Draco was mentally retarded. "Seriously, you've got hearing problems. Have you really not heard what I've been yelling at you for," Harry checked the bedside clock, "the last five minutes?"

Draco mumbled something under his breath.

He then looked at the magically updating calendar/clock/planner hanging on his wall.

Draco lurched off the bed with a start.

"HARRY! WE'RE GETTING OUR HOGWARTS LETTERS TODAY!" Draco exclaimed, adrenaline pumping through him.

"Wow...someone's fast today..." Harry muttered, rolling his eyes. "Race you!" Harry shouted, sprinting out through Draco's door.

"Hey! That's cheap!" Draco said, running after Harry.

--

The two (slightly calmed down) boys sat at the breakfast table munching on bacon and eggs.

"Hey Draco?"

"Yeah?"

"Wouldn't it be funny if you didn't get your Hogwarts letter?"

Draco glared at Harry.

"No, but it'd be funny if you didn't get yours," Draco replied flatly.

"Oh no, I'm definitely getting mine," Harry replied with a smirk (one that he had learned from Draco).

"Oh really."

"Of course. Remember that time I blasted all the windows in the house out?"

"How could I forget...Mother thought it was me, and I was yelled at for hours," Draco replied, looking a little annoyed.

Harry laughed at the memory.

"I can't wait to go to Hogwarts!" Harry exclaimed, thinking happily about all the stories Lucius and Narcissa had told him and Draco about their school years.

_flashback_

"When you two are eleven, you will receive a letter to Hogwarts. Though Durmstrang would be more suitable for two respectable pureblood wizards like you two, Narcissa has been insistent that you stay closer to home and go to Hogwarts. Hogwarts was a great school in our time, before the fool of a headmaster, Dumbledore, took over. When Narcissa and I were around your age, Hogwarts was the best wizarding school in the world," Lucius said to Harry and Draco, who sat on a couch opposite of him.

"What was Hogwarts like, father?" Draco asked curiously.

"It's an amazingly magical castle, Draco. There is a great lake, a massive forest, and an ever-changing interior. Hogwarts will never become boring. We always thought Hogwarts was really alive when we were first years," Lucius replied.

"What did you do there?" asked Harry.

Lucius chuckled softly.

"Hogwarts is a school, however magical and fairytale-like it may sound. We took classes like Potions, Etiquette, Ancient Runes, Transfiguration, Charms, Dueling, Bloodlines...Useful classes like those. Unfortunately, Dueling has been replaced by Defence Against the Dark Arts, Etiquette and Bloodlines have been taken out and Muggle Studies," Lucius scowled, "has replaced them. And Dumbledore uses teachers who are every bit as idiotic as himself--Trelawney, the nutcase, and Binns, the ghost, for example. Hogwarts has fallen away, but it is still a great school, regardless. Slytherin is still as pure as ever," Lucius finished.

"What is Slytherin?" Harry asked, not having been raised in a Slytherin household.

"The best house of them all!" Draco said proudly. "All the Malfoys have been Slytherins, and I'm sure you'll be one too."

Lucius cracked a smile.

"Yes, Slytherin is the purest of all the houses. The founder, Salazar Slytherin, prized pure blood, cunning, and ambition. All of these lead to success, which makes Slytherin the best of all four houses," Lucius said smugly.

"What are the other houses?" Harry asked, his head whirling with the new information.

"Slytherin, by far, is definitely the best of the four. But also acceptable would be Ravenclaw, founded by Rowena Ravenclaw. She was a brilliant witch, though not as powerful as Slytherin and Gryffindor, but prized knowledge above all. Godric Gryffindor founded the Gryffindor House. Thought Gryffindor himself was a great and powerful wizard, his ideals of courage and bravery were ultimately his downfall. Though he can be admired, of course, for his traits, his way of doing things was a surefire way to failure and he displayed quite a large amount of idiocy. An equally undesireable House would be Hufflepuff, founded by Helga Hufflepuff. However kindhearted the witch was, she reached her position in life only because of her friendship with the other three founders and all those in her house are rather...pushable. Though there are oddballs in each House, the Houses are sorted by a Sorting Hat, which decides which founder's ideals you portray the most and places you in their house. I have no doubt that you will both be placed into the noble house of Slytherin," Lucius explained.

_end flashback_

An owl screeched and soared into the Malfoy owlery, flapping twice around the writing table before dropping onto a perch and looking at Harry and Draco expectantly. The two boys scrambled over, pushing and shoving each other in a bid to try and reach the owl first. Finally, Draco untied the letter (only one!) from the owl's leg (after sitting on Harry's stomach to stop him from moving) and fed the owl a treat.

Draco held the envelope face down, nervous butterflies flitting around in his stomach.

"Gerroff me, you big oaf!" Harry grumbled, squirming from under the slightly taller Draco.

"Oops, I forgot about you," Draco said sheepishly, standing up.

Draco flipped the envelope open and saw that it was addressed to "Mr. Draco Malfoy, Malfoy Manor." Draco sighed softly in relief.

Harry popped up beside him.

"Oh, bollocks. You got yours first. Well, open it!" Harry said impatiently.

Draco carefully slitted the envelope open, and delicately lifted out the sheets of paper. The first piece was a letter that said:

_Dear Mr Malfoy, __  
__"We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Students shall be required to report to the chamber of Reception upon arrival, the date for which shall be duly advised. Please ensure that the utmost attention be made to the list of requirements attached herewith. We very much look forward to receiving you as part of the new generation of Hogwarts' heritage._

_  
__Minerva McGonagall __  
__Deputy Headmistress" (Rowling, SS)_

The paper behind the letter had a list of required materials, which said:

"_First year students will require:_

_1. Three sets of plain work robes_

_2. One plain pointed hat for day wear_

_3. One pair of dragon-hide gloves_

_And the following set of books:_

'_The Standard Book of Spells' by Miranda Goshawk_

'_A Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi' by Phyllida Spore_

'_A History of Magic' by Bathilda Bagshot_

'_Magical Theory' by Adalbert Waffling_

'_A Beginner's Guide to Transfiguration' by Emeric Switch_

'_Magical Drafts and Potions' by Arsenius Jigger_

'_Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them' by Newt Scamander_

'_The Dark Forces: A Guide to Slef-Protection' by Trimble_

_All students must be equipped with:_

_One wand_

_One standard size two pewter cauldron_

_And may bring, if they so desire, either an owl, a cat, or a toad._

_Lucinda Thomsonicl-Pocus_

_Chief Attendant of Witchcraft Provisions" (Rowling, SS)_

"Wow…" Harry whispered, reading along with Draco.

Right then, another owl flew in through the owlery window carrying another Hogwarts stamped envelope. Harry hurriedly untied the envelope and gave the owl a treat, then ripped open his envelope messily. Lifting out his papers, he saw that his letters were identical to Draco's—with the exception of this paper:

_Dear Mr. Potter,_

_It has come to our attention that you are living with muggles in a non-magical area. A professor will come to you and take you to purchase your school supplies before the term begins. Please await our correspondence for further information._

_Minerva McGonagall_

_Deputy Headmistress_

"Hey Draco! What do I do about this?" Harry asked, holding his letter out to Draco to see. "What if they go to the Dursley's? What if," he gasped in horror, "they come here and try to take me away?"

Though Harry was still slightly worried, he sighed in reluctant acceptance and nodded in agreement.

"Did Lucius say when he planned to take us to Diagon Alley for school supplies?" Harry asked Draco.

"I think he said the Sunday after we received our letters..."

"That would be tomorrow, then!" Harry said, barely able to wait for the 'shopping trip'.

"That it would be. Ooh! Have you seen the new Nimbus?" Draco asked, his thoughts flitting to Quidditch.

"Wait, the broom? There's a new Nimbus? How come you didn't tell me about it?" Harry asked, prodding Draco.

"Hey, back off! You were too busy reading your new Potions book, and I like my head connected to the rest of my body, thank you very much," Draco replied defensively.

"Oh." Harry stared out into space blankly, trying to remember when that had happened. "Oops."

"Anyways, that's beyond the point," Harry said, changing the subject, "what's the Nimbus like?"

"Absolutely brilliant! You know the Comets we have in the shed? Well, the speed is supposed to be three times as fast, and it's acceleration time is miniscule! Turning is supposed to be magnificent, too. The only problem is the braking--it's a little on the shaky side, but at least it's fast," Draco said excitedly. "Too bad first years can't bring brooms. I bet we can sneak them in if we hide the brooms in our clothes, though."

"Wow...I can't wait to try out the Nimbus," Harry said, a little starry-eyed.

"Yeah, me too. I can't wait to go to Hogwarts, for that matter," Draco replied, grinning in anticipation.

"Hey, you want to owl Blaise and Theo to see if they've received their letters yet?" Harry asked.

"Sure! And if they have, we might as well get them to come over for a bit of celebrating (and break into Father's butterbeer stores while we're at it)," Draco replied.

"We're an odd bunch, you know that? Celebrating about going to school... I used to abhor school--but then, it was a stupid muggle school, so I suppose that was to be expected," Harry said.

"Oh please. Hogwarts doesn't sound like any plain and boring school. And we'll be away from the controlling influence of our parents al year long! It shall be desert three times a day from now on," Draco plotted evilly. "Anyways, even if Hogwarts is just a normal school, it'll still be better than those evil, ruler-toting torturous tutors we have teaching us now."

"Yeah...at least. Do you think you'll miss Lucius and Narcissa?" Harry asked. "I think I will, and they're not even my parents!"

"Maybe...yeah, I probably will. They might not be good at it, but I know they love me," Draco said with a silly smile. "But they said we'll probably be having so much fun that we all but forget about them," Draco replied. "Oh yeah...and I heard that the Boy Who Lived is in our year. What do you say about befirending him, and placing him on our side?"

Harry burst into peals of laughter.

"Imagine the Minster's face if his poster boy turned out to be a Slytherin, the house of evilness!"

"That would be absolutely ridiculous," Draco said while laughing at the image. "What an interesting thought. Let's try that, shall we?" Draco said, plotting his evil little plots in his evil little mind. (What a hardcore Slytherin! XD)

"Right-o," Harry replied, plotting equally evil little plots in his equally evil little mind.

The two devious soon-to-be-Howarts-students discussed their plans for their next seven years at Hogwarts all the rest of the day, nothing else able to permeate their minds.

_9 June 2008 A/N: Do any of you know how to get a beta? Is there a search-thing with a list of all the betas + their information, or do I have to find one by asking around? Anyways, thanks for reading!_

_Next chapter coming up: Adoption Letters and Diagon Alley_


	5. Adoption Letters

_10 June 2008 A/N: What on earth is a "C2"? (Sorry, I really can't tell) Anyways, thanks to: _

_-mpc797 _

_-demoneyeskyoko _

_-spacecatdet: Thanks for the info. I had no idea, since I've never needed a beta before. _

_-jabarber69: I thought it would be easier if there was a magical addressing book that would take care of all the first years—imagine if you had to write all of those letters! Also, Harry is unimportant in the eyes of Dumbledore at the time, so I suppose no one would look into his location. _

_-Blob no. 1 _

_-Wauzi _

_-pacific.coast: XD _

_19 June 2008 A/N: Hello! Last week was finals, and this week was a bunch of graduation fluff. (Sorry about not updating). Summer's coming, but I'm leaving for Taiwan in a couple days and I'll have limited internet access...I'll probably handwrite it out on the plane, though. :) I handwrote this chapter while in class (I always finish tests early) but got lazy and didn't feel like typing it. XP Anyways, here it is--I made this chapter a little longer to try and make up for the long wait. Thanks to:_

_-haroonangel_

_-Wand of Destiny_

_-mooglething: Thanks for your amazingly long and well-thought-out review--it was very much appreciated. I made Severus Draco's godfather because in many of the Slytherin-Harry stories I've read, that's his role...and it's a nice way to connect them. Can't have the Head of House hating him, can we?_

**Chapter Five: Adoption Letters**

Sunday morning, Harry and Draco excitedly bounded out of bed to get dressed and rushed through their breakfasts in order to get ready to go off the Diagon Alley.

"Lucius, are you ready to take us now?" Harry said, unable to keep the anticipation out of his voice.

"A bit longer, dear," Narcissa said to Harry. "Lucius will be ready in moments. He does need to look presentable to the public, you know. For that matter, so do you. What are you wearing? Draco! Get over here!" Narcissa gibbered on, scowling at Draco and Harry's casual attire. "You two! How could you even think of going out in those plain looking clothes? There is a Malfoy reputation to keep, you know. I can not believe you. And I thought I had raised you well. Who knows what Lucius did to corrupt you…Come now, it's back upstairs to change for you tow!" Narcissa ranted, pulling the two boys upstairs.

About twenty minutes later, Harry and Draco reemerged from their rooms, fully changed and looking very aristocratic indeed. Both boys wore neatly pressed black robes. Draco's had a tiny "D" embroidered in silvery thread on his left sleeve while Harry had a similar looking "H" on his.

The two shared a silent and sullen look before sighing resignedly and stomping (gracefully and quietly, of course, so Narcissa didn't notice) dowstairs. There, they met Lucius (who by this time was all ready to go) who was wearing black robes just like theirs, except Lucius was also wearing a striped silver tie.

Right as they were all prepared to floo into Diagon Alley, a tinkling bell chimed throughout Malfoy Manor and a shabby-looking House Elf apparated into the living room.

"Mr. Malfoy sir, a guest is here sir! Guest says her name is McGone-gall, sir!" the House Elf squeaked nervously.

Lucius scowled. "Let her in, Dobby."

The House Elf apparated away with a pop.

"Who is 'Mcgonegall', Father?" asked Draco, looking up at Lucius with a confused expression.

"One of Dumbledore's minions," Lucius replied with a sneer, "and the Deputy Headmistress as well as the Transfiguration professor. I believe she is also," Lucius paused with a look of distaste, "the head of Gryffindor."

"Oh no!" Harry exclaimed, a look of horror on his face. "She's the one who wrote me that letter, remember Draco?"

"What letter?" Lucius cut in, looking annoyed. (Harry couldn't tell whether Lucius was annoyed because of McGonagall's presence or because of being left out of the loop).

"Here," Harry said, thrusting McGonagall's letter at Lucius.

After scanning the letter quickly, Lucius scowled and muttered, "stay here and wait. I'll deal with McGonagall and take you to Diagon Alley when I'm done."

Lucius turned on his heel and with a whoosh of his cloak, swept out of the room.

Harry and Draco ran up to the door to peek at the confrontation they were sure would ensue.

Minerva McGonagall started for a moment upon seeing Lucius enter the parlor where she had been waiting.

"Good morning, Mr. Malfoy," she said with a tiny trace of disgust as she quickly regained her composure. "Our owls returned with the information that one Mr. Harry Potter is currently residing in your Manor. Regardless of the reason why he is in your manor, as a magical orphan of eleven years of age he is the responsibility of Hogwarts, the closest wizarding school. I am here as a representative of Hogwarts and now ask that you relinquish the boy to me."

"Good," Lucius sneered, "morning to you as well. However, I can not comply with your," Lucius coughed, "request. My family has been caring for Harry for three years now, and he has no objections to where he is As a perfectly capable and law a biding," Minerva snorted, "wizard, I will take responsibility for his care until he has reached adulthood."

Minerva scowled, obviously finding more resistance than she had expected.

"Now, now, Mr. Malfoy. Only Ministry-recognized parents or guardians are permitted to do what you have suggested," Minerva said in a patronizing tone. "And as you are neither of the above, I will ask that you give Harry Potter to me."

"I see," Lucius replied, the hint of a smirk on his face. "Well, I have just the perfect solution for that."

Minerva raised a eyebrow.

Lucius smirked knowingly.

"Yes...well, like you said, the problem is merely that I am not Harry's parent of his guardian, am I correct?" asked Lucius, still smirking.

"Yes..." replied Minerva slowly, feeling as if Lucius were a large predator closing in on her.

"And even though I am sure you would not consider this...guardianship...a problem for certain other families, like the Weasleys," Lucius scowled briefly, "I have just the perfect solution. As you said, Harry is an orphan. His official guardians are, according to him--who I am undoubtedly sure is correct--his Muggle Aunt and Uncle. Surely the two," Lucius sniffed in disgust, "Muggles wouldn't mind relinquishing their guardianship on him."

Minerva twitched.

"What exactly are you suggesting?" asked Minerva warily, though she knew very well what Lucius was about to say."

"Why, for Potter to formally become a Malfoy, of course." Lucius smiled smugly. "Surely you don't have any objections. I will have the forms ready for you," Lucius paused, "and Dubmledore within an hour. Thank you for giving me this wonderful idea, and have a nice day."

Lucius ushered Minerva outside and slammed (well, not really slammed, more like shut very quickly--how could a Malfoy slam a door?) the door on the face of Minerva McGonagall.

Harry and Draco scampered away from the living room door as Lucius returned, pasting innocent smiles on their faces.

"So Harry," Draco said in an overly loud and fake voice, "what pet do _you_ want to buy today?"

"I know you two were watching, so stop sounding like an telemarketer, Draco," Lucius said wearily. "So Harry, what do you think?"

Harry paused fidgeting a little.

"Honestly?" Harry began, trailing off, "I think it's a brilliant idea!"

Lucius let out a ragged sigh of relief.

I'd love to be a Malfoy!" Harry beamed.

"We're going to be brothers," Draco said with a smile, nudging Harry with his elbow.

"Wonderful," Lucius said, letting out a held breath. "Harry, you should be able to consider yourself a Malfoy by the aend of the day," Lucius remarked, giving Harry a rare, sincere smile.

Lucius nudged Harry and Draco to the fireplace.

"Don't forget to speak clearly," he reminded them.

Draco stepped forward first, and lifting a pinch of floo powder before tossing it into the fireplace's roaring fire and clearly stating "Diagon Alley", Draco put a foot into the green flames and whirled into disappearance.

Harry was next led to the fireplace.

He repaeted the process and felt a sucking, spinning feeling as the green-tinged fire spat him out at Flourish and Blotts.

Harry stumbled out and fell on his face, a little puff cloud of ash and soot following after him and covering him with a find layer of dust.

Lucius walked neatly out of the fireplace and stopped at Harry's feet.

"Scourgify," Lucius said in wry amusement, waving his wand over Harry lazily. "Someday, I'll have to teach you how to land properly, won't I?"

Lucius lifted Harry off the floor.

"Gringotts first, Ministry second," Lucius muttered, walking forward. Harry and Draco followed him obediently.

Harry and Draco had both, of course, been to Diagon Aleey. Yet Harry, having lived the earliest part of his life as a muggle, would never cease being amazed by the magical world.

Harry and Draco arrived in front of Gringotts' massive bronze doors. The squat goblin bowed deeply to Lucius, and nodded to the two boys. Harry was about to bow back when Lucius stopped him, saying that goblins were inferior creatures and didn't need any bowing to. (Meanwhile, the goblin glared viciously at them, but none of the three noticed).

"We tolerate the goblins only because they are such great gold keepers," Lucius said.

They stopped in a wide hall with lines of people leading out of several high counters, each with a goblin behind it. Harry saw goblin weighing gold pieces against massive rubies on a scale, and another counting out round and shiny galleons.

Lucius walked right to the front of a long line and, smiling 'warmly' at the people in the line, said, "Please excuse me--I have rather urgent business to attend to. I'll do my best not to hold you up."

Most of the wizards nodded their understanding (while looking slightly annoyed), but a red-haired fellow stepped out and glared at Lucius.

"Malfoy! Get into line just like the rest of us!" he hollered, glowering at Lucius.

"That's Weasley, he's dirt poor and has too many kid," Draco whispered to Harry, knowing that Harry had never bothered with paying attention to their politics classes.

"Ah, but I'm not 'just like the rest of you', now am I?" Lucius replied under his breath so only Weasley could hear. "My business is much more important than yours--for all you know, I could be arranging for you to have a raise," Lucius said, smirking. "Merline knows you need it."

Lucius turned away from Arthur Weasley, completely ignoring whatever the red-haired man was about to say. Staring at the goblin behind the counter, Lucius nodded curtly.

"Malfoy Currency Vault," he said, handing the goblin an ornate key with a green emerald set into it's handle.

"Griphook." the goblin said clearly (and impatiently).

Another goblin waddled out to face Lucius and made a beckoning motion.

The three (led by Griphook the goblin) stopped in front of a fireplace-like arch-thing. The fireplace-like thing was a large arch decorated with many runic symbols. A thin sheet of flame stretched out across its surface, flickering in the light. The goblin tossed a bit of something into the flame and nodded to Lucius.

Lucius stepped into the flame and disappeared, even though there was nothing behind the arch.

Harry stared at the arch suspiciously as Draco, too, disappeared through the flames.

The goblin then nodded to Harry and, feeling slightly apprehensive, Harry stepped through the fire.

A prickling, icy sort of chill pierced his skin and sent him into involuntary shivers. The coldness slowly faded as he found himself in a dimly lit corridor.

Another goblin stepped out from behind a column and stared at Lucius, Draco and Harry. He then frowned and pointed somewhere into the darkness, and Lucius somehow managed to understand what the goblin was trying to say.

Lucius inserted the same small, golden key into a seemingly invisible hold in a wall Harry hadn't noticed before. Suddenly, the wall dissolved into dust, revealing the smallest of the Malfoy vaults.

Mound and mounds of neatly stacked galleons, sickles and knuts filled the cavernous vault. Though there was barely any light, it was reflected off of every shiny, polished surface, making the vault's interior light up with glittering metal.

Lucius reached in a levitated a good-sized mound, dropping it into his charmed dragon-hide wallet. He then picked up a sickle and gave it to the goblin with a thin smile.

"Thank you for your services," Lucius said to the goblin.

They then made their way out of the vaults and flooed to the Ministry of Magic.

--

Stepping out of a massive fireplace (after stumbling and catching himself), Harry looked around at the inside of teh Ministry curiously. Lucius had never brought him to the Ministry before, and it was a lot more...boring...than he had thought it would be.

On the inside of the Ministry, there were lots of ordinary-looking wixards and witches in very ordinary-looking offices. It almost resembled a muggle office building, except for the flying paper airplanes (Harry tried to catch one to see what it was for but he missed) and the people walking out of fireplaces.

Lucius took Harry and Draco to the fourth floor, labeled 'Social Security', and walked up to the secretary.

"Good morning," Lucius glanced at the name card, "Donna. I have an appointment with Beetil Raveli."

"Mr. Malfoy!" Donna explained, jerking upwards. She fumbled over her desk to cover the book on muggle customs she had been reading. "Ah--please go to the second room on your right."

Lucius, Draco and Harry ended up in a smallish office room that was mostly filled by cabinets overflowing with papers. A smallish man sat before then behind an oversized desk, looking at them.

"Mr. Malfoy, how nice to see you again," Raveli said. "What can I do for you today?"

Lucius smiled coldly.

"I'm here to adopt Harry here," Lucius replied, nudging Harry forward.

Beetil Raveli gasped in a breath and stared at Harry with wide eyes. Adoption?

"There are an extra ten galleons in it for you if you keep this quiet," Lucius said, hiding his scowl quickly.

Beetil smiled. "Of course, of course," he replied, beckoning Harry over.

"Full name, age and parents?" Raveli asked Harry, falling into the steady, mundane rhythm of his career.

"Harry James Potter, eleven years of age, James and Lily Potter," Harry replied.

"Birthdate, birthplace, current guardians?" Beetil questioned further.

"June the thirty-first, Potter Manor in Godric's Hollow and Vernon and Petunia Dursely." Harry said. "They're muggles," he added.

"Perfect," Raveli said, pulling out a thin file. "Mr. Malfoy, you are planning to make this boy a member of the Malfoy family, yes?"

"Correct."

Raveli took out a stamp and pressed it down on Harry's papers. He then added the thin file Harry assumed was his own to a much larger one labeled 'Malfoy'.

"That's all! Wasn't that easy? Thank you for your time. Harry is now officially Harry Potter-Malfoy," Raveli said happily, thinkin about the ten galleons (200 USD) he had earned today for not saying anything.

"Thank you," replied Lucius, relieved that that meddling Dumbledore hadn't 'pulled some strings' and made up an obstacle so he couldn't adopt Harry. 'Take that, McGonagall', Lucius thought in his head.

"Alright. Now that we're all done with that, where would you two like to go next?" Lucius said, turning to Draco and Harry.

"Florean Fortescue's?" Draco suggested, his mouth watering at the thought of ice cream.

Harry nodded in a greement.

"Florean's it is, then," Lucius said, taking their hands and apparating with a nearly silent clap.

--

Harry sat at a booth in the ice cream store eating a massive pinkish blob of frozen and mashed cream and sugar. Harry Potter-Malfoy munched happily on his scoop of strawberry ice cream.

Next to him, Draco was easting an equally large blob of pale, off-white ice cream with rainbow flecks scattered throughout. The colorful specks flickered and shot off spakrs that faded into the air.

Lucius sat patiently waiting for the two to finish, a mug of what looked like a soothie in his hands. He watched Harry and Draco eat their cold treats happily, and listened to their random chatter. Lucius nodded in acknowledgement of other powerful wizards and witches, sometimes talking with them about things like their latest project, the best investment on the market, and the Minister's newest policy. Thus, Lucius made people think he like him. (Not that he disliked them--he just couldn't quite bring himself to say that he liked the superficial, mindless, Ministry-obeying lemmings.)

"Lucius, how are you doing?" exclaimed a rather rotund woman as she plopped down onto the chair next to Lucius' at the booth.

"Fine, and you?" Lucius responded cordially, inwardly grimacing.

"Absolutely wonderful!" the woman said happily in an annoyingly girly and high pitched voice.

"How is your daughter, Pansy?" Lucius asked, secretly hoping that the only child of Violet Porskoff-Parkinson had died or been rendered a vegetable so the woman would stop pestering Narcissa and himself about 'marriage plans' for Draco and Pansy.

"Perfectly, as always," Violet Parkinson replied, smiling in what she thought was a charming manner. "A little lonely, you know, being an only child. Draco would know--they have so much in common!" Violet squealed happily, "They would totally be the perfect couple, wouldn't they?

Violet Porskoff-Parkinson looked very excited at the prospect of having Malfoy in-laws. (No doubt plotting how to raise the standing of the Parkinson line).

Lucius stared at the woman, trying to hide his revulsion.

"Ohhh, and who is this?" Violet asked, turning to face Harry. She stared at him oddly, and looked about. No other parents. Obviously they weren't related--the boy had black hair and green eyes. Or...possibly a very distant cousin?

"My son," Lucius replied flatly, thinking of the freaking-out moment that was sure to ensue.

"What do you mean he's your son?" Violet asked, her voice suddenly two octaves higher while looking twitchy and disbelieving.

"I meant what I said. You know, how your son is an heir? Yes?" Lucius explained slowly, nodding sarcastically as he spoke.

Violet stared at Lucius in horror.

"You-you," Violet gasped for breath, and reached into her bag (an enormous one, though there was no reason for a large bag--it was called an expansion charm) to grab a towlette, which she covered her face with as she hyperventilated. (She probably thought hyperventilating with a silk cloth made her look delicate or something of the sort, but when she tried it she simply looked mentally challenged). "You had an AFFAIR??" Violet shrieked, after returning to breathing normally.

Lucius, this time, stared at Violet in horror.

"Where would you get that sort of idea?" he demanded, looking furious.

Violet opened and shut her mouth a couple of times, gaping like a fish.

"The black hair is obviously not yours _or_ Narcissa's, and the last Malfoy _or_ Black to have green eyes was killed with no heirs!" Violet said haughtily, looking scandalized.

Lucius scowled at Violet.

"He's my son, but not biologically," Lucius said, a hint of annoyance in his voice.

"Oh," Violet said, her eyes widening curiously. "Oh!" Staring at Harry, Violet grabbed something in her bag again. "I simply must tell everyone about this! A new Malfoy!" Violet said, a smile lighting up on her face. She was practically bouncing in her seat at the prospect of new gossip.

"Stop," Lucius said, scowling at her again. He quickly took her handbag. (Well, more like her enourmous sack of fabric, but let's call it a handbag to be simple). "I'm...trusting...you with this...special...information," Lucius came up with on the spot, hoping it would keep the woman quiet. "I'll...see how well you can keep a secret, yes?"

Violet nodded quickly. "Yesyes, I can most definitely keep a secret. No need to worry about me!"

Lucius let out a small breath.

Violet's bag let out a small stream of red sparks.

"Oh no! I'm afraid I must excuse myself. It was nice talking to you!" Violet said, jumping out of her booth chair and fleeing out the door.

Lucius 'slumped' (more like relaxed a miniscule amount) against his chair, glad Violet Porskoff-Parkinson hadn't thought of asking who the boy was (not that he expected an airhead like her to ask...).

Looking over at the boys and seeing that they were finished (and now sat staring into the shallow puddles of melted ice cream, drawing designs and each trying to out-draw the other), Lucius placed a sickle and two knuts on the table (as a tip) and led his sons out of Florean Fortescue's.

_20 June 2008 A/N: So much for a long chapter...I thought I should end it here, because my next section will be Diagon Alley (and I'm expecting that to be long, so here's the split). Sorry for making you guys wait so long--I hope you guys enjoyed it. Oh yeah--have you guys read Stephenie Meyer's "The Host"? If you haven't, you definitely should. I think it's better than the Twilight series. XP_


	6. Diagon Alley

_11 Nov 2008 A/N: Hey everyone! I'm not dead yet, but with how much I've published in the past...what, 3 months?...I might as well be. I don't have any excuses, sorry. Anyways, here you go. :)_

**Chapter Six: Diagon Alley**

"Harry Malfoy," Harry said to himself, sounding out his new name. It sounded...a little odd, but still good. 'Harry Potter' was so ordinary and boring. His biological parents who gave him the name were a thing of the past, and it made sense for him to have a new name for his new life.

Harry and Draco stepped into Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions. The woman whom the store was named after glanced up at the door, gave a tight smile, and welcomed Lucius and his sons in.

"Welcome, Mr. Malfoy. How may I help you today?" she asked.

"Hogwarts' robes for my sons," Lucius replied. "Oh yes--a hat for each, and two pairs of your finest dragon-hide gloves."

Madam Malkin eyed Harrry dubiously before telling them to step up to the measuring stools.

"Would you like a set of dress robes as well? Or perhaps ordinary robes for traveling."

"Simple Hogwarts' robes will be fine," Lucius said, sounding bored. "Don't forget the silver-trim ones with the Slytherin emblem."

Madam Malkin pursed her lips, but nodded.

"Draco and..." Malkin trailed off, looking questioningly at Harry.

"Harry," Harry replied, giving her an innocent smile.

Malkin smiled back on reflex before realizing what she was doing.

"Step on to the stools then," Malkin ordered, pulling out a box of pins. She grabbed a sheet of black fabric and began pinning it into shape on Draco.

"Ow! Be careful, you idiot woman!" He complained, scowling.

"Hold _still_," Madam Malkin said, sounding frustrated.

Draco emmited random yelps as a now-annoyed Madam Malkin impatiently jabbed needles at his robes.

It was this irate woman who came over to Harry and began the same treatment. Harry grimaced lightly as tiny pricks prodded him.

Just then, the door to Madam Malkin's robe store opened and a magically alerted chime appeared and tinkled next to Madam Malkin.

A rather pudgy-looking boy of the same age as Harry and Draco walked in to the store, an air of superiority about him.

Draco, used to being the center of attention, visibly bristled, his expression of disinterested curiosity turning into a scowl.

"Who are you?" Draco asked, a tinge of disdain in his voice.

"Neville Longbottom," the slightly rotund boy said with a sneer. "You must be..." Neville looked up and down Draco, "a Malfoy.

Draco raised one eyebrow,.

"Platinum hair, stuck up appearance?" Neville smirked.

"Are you going to Hogwarts this fall?" Harry asked, changing the subject to stop Draco from leaping off his stool and mauling Neville.

"Of course. Hogwarts _is_ the best wizarding school," Neville replied. "And who are you?"

"Harry," Harry replied with a small smile, "it's a pleasure to make your acquaintance."

Neville smiled in return. "Of course it is. I'm the Boy-Who-Lived."

"More like the Boy-With-Too-Many-Hyphens," Draco whispered in Harry's ear.

Neville coughed.

"Harry, there are some people you simply shouldn't associate with. The Malfoys, for example," Neville said, looking pointedly at Draco. "You should be...my friend. And stay away from people like him." Neville smirked in Draco's direction.

Harry's amiable smile fell off his face and was quickly replaced with a blank, empty look.

"Draco is my brother," Harry said simply.

Neville stared at Harry a bit, then stared at Draco.

"Wh-what do you mean?" Neville asked, looking confused.

"What else could he mean? I didn't think there were hidden meanings in the phrase 'Draco is my brother'. You know, if I really had to analyze his statement, I would guess that Harry was my brother!" Draco said, holding back a snicker.

"Right..." Neville trailed off.

Harry and Draco nodded and smiled and Neville.

Neville backed away a bit.

"Neville!" a sharp voice called out, making Neville twitch. He looked around nervously.

A tall woman in sweeping deep red robes with graying hair in a tight bun stepped into the robe shop.

"Yes Gran," Neville replied, looking and sounding rather small.

"Here you are, I couldn't find you before. I recall telling you to stay close," Augusta Longbottom said, looking down at Neville with a scowl.

"Augusta!" Madam Malkin exclaimed upon spotting the Longbottom matriarch. "How nice to see you again!

Augusta smiled warmly at Madam Malkin.

"Yes. Hogwart's robes for Neville, if you don't mind."

Madam Malkin nodded.

"I'm afraid you'll have to wait for me to finish, but I'll do my best to hurry," Mdam Malkin replied.

Augusta raised her eyebrows.

"My grandson is the Boy-Who-Lived. I think that warrants a bit of special treatment, don't you?" Augusta asked, looking at Madam Malkin coolly.

"And my sons are Malfoys," Lucius said with a sneer, cutting into the conversation as he entered the store.

Augusta scowled at Lucius and received a smirk in return.

"All finished!" Madam Malkin said in an overly bright voice. "Neville, you may step up to the stool now."

Neville hopped on, looking impatient.

"Three simple black Hogwarts' robes, each outfitted with a House-morphing crest," Augusta Longbottom ordered. "I will be back in an hour. Behave, Neville." Augusta whirled around and left.

Madam Malkin handed Harry and Draco their personalized robes. (Harry's had 'HM' while Draco's had 'DM' under their Slytherin crests).

Neville, upon spotting the crest, raised his eyebrows and gave a small, derisive laugh.

"It's a good thing you both know that you belong in the worst house," Neville said, scoffing. "I bet you snakes are just waiting to come of age to join You-Know-Who."

"So what if we are?" countered Draco, smirking knowingly. "Innocent until proven guilty. And how could we_ possibly_ wish to join the _monster _who controlled father during the war?" Draco simpered, looking gleeful.

"Your father was a Death Eater, and we all know it!" replied Neville, scowling angrily. "The likes of _him _killed my parents."

Draco smiled thinly. "The Ministry's word is law, and they said my father is innocent. After all, he is a good, law-abiding citizen."

"Your father is one of the slimiest snakes of the lot. His little 'I was under the imperius' act was completely false, and we can all see clear through it."

Neville glared at Draco, and Draco glared back.

Harry's gaze bounced between to the angry and vengeful boys.

"Er, Neville, was it?" Harry began.

The angry gazes of Neville and Draco snapped to Harry, though Draco relaxed and seemed to calm a bit.

"You may think whatever you would like, but Lucius is completely innocent. It shows nothing good of your personality that you go around accusing innocent people of atrocious crimes--even worse, Lucius is a victim, and yet you say he is just like his attackers. Honestly, Lucius, a Death Eater? Everyone has seen his contributions to society, and no one can accuse him of wandering off into the wrong side of the law. Lucius is a wonderful person who shouldn't have to suffer your unbased accusations. You know," Harry said, tilting his head to the side and looking at Neville oddly, "I think you lot are jealous of us, and try to bring us down to your level with silly rumors."

Draco and Neville stared at Harry, in pride and indignation respectively.

"You know, that makes a rather lot of sense..." Draco began.

"How dare you! You should be envious of me!" Neville shouted.

Harry smirked at Neville and winked in a not particularly discreet way at Draco.

"Touchy and defensive, aren't you? You know, those are signs of insecurity..." trailed off Harry as he pushed Draco out of the store and quickly followed.

The last (amusing) sight they saw was Neville's angry stamping of his foot.

The two (still giggling) boys bumped into Lucius, who had been just about to fetch them.

"Oh," he remarked, glancing down and the two, "done, then? Hand me your robes," Lucius ordered.

He took the two very bloated bags and waved his wand over them, shrinking the purchases into two little pebbles. Lucius then placed the bag-shaped pebbles in a little wallet-like thing.

"Father, where are we going next?" asked Draco, pulling out his Hogwarts' letter.

Harry, peering at the letter over Draco's shoulder, pointed at the next thing on the to-bring list.

"Books next, I think."

Lucius dropped them off at Flourish and Blotts, telling them to make themselves busy for the next five hours.

"There are fifty galleons in each bag," Lucius said, handing Draco and Harry each a little pouch. That is what you have for the day--spend it however you would like. I will meet you here in exactly five hours."

Draco and Harry whispered excitedly as Lucius left, as they had never been given free reign to wander the streets before.

"Books first, then?" Harry said, opening the door to Flourish and Blotts and bowing mockingly. "Ladies first!" he said, nodding to Draco.

Draco rolled his eyes and pushed Harry into the store.

Looking around the store, Harry gasped. Flourish and Blotts was decorated for incoming Hogwarts' students, with the books reorganized into subject matters, and two massive bookshelves to the side for those not on school supply raids. Large banners fluttered above each cluster, with "First Year Books" being closest to the door. Stacked into amazing formations were all the books Harry and Draco were looking for.

After wandering about for a bit, and Harry still being awed by the displays of magic, the two found all the supplies in Flourish and Blotts that the needed and quickly paid. Finished, Harry and Draco stepped out into the bright, noontime sunlight and looked around.

"Ollivanders is closest," pointed out Draco as he looked at the wand store.

"In we go, then," replied Harry, leading the way.

The first thing the two noticed when they walked into the wand store was the old, dusty smell that overpowered everything else. The second thing they noticed was the presence of massive, long rows of shelves, each filled to the maximum with haphazardly placed boxes.

As their eyes adjusted to the dim lighting of Ollivander's Wand Store, Harry and Draco finally noticed the slightly creepy and extremely pale spindly figure watching them from behind a counter covered with neatly stacked wand boxes.

"Er...hello?" asked/said Harry, looking at the person warily.

"Hello," the man answered in a raspy, crinkly kind of voice. "You are here to find a wand," Mr. Ollivander stated, rather than asked. "But when you leave with a wand today, it will be because the wand chose you, not because you chose it."

Harry and Draco shared a glance.

"Draco," Mr. Ollivander said, pointing and staring at Draco, "come forth."

Startled, Draco walked forward to stand before the old wand maker.

"Pick a wand," Ollivander said, pulling out and opening five boxes, each containing a differently designed wand, onto his table.

Draco, after glancing at the wands, chose the ash-grey one, picked it up, and gave it a wave. The wand promptly gave two pitiful splutters and a puff of oily smoke.

"Try this," said Ollivander, handing Draco another wand.

Draco waved it in the air and was successfully rewarded as a silvery dragon flew from the tip of the wand and circled around the store.

"Good, good," Ollivanders said, nodding and wearing a satisfied expression. "Hawthorn and unicorn hair, 10 inches, reasonably springy." (Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows) "Box?"

Draco, staring at the wand (and holding it carefully, as if it might shatter at any moment) shook his head mutely.

"Harry," Mr. Ollivander said in his whispery voice.

Harry walked up to Ollivander uncertainly.

"Try this," Ollivander said, giving Harry a relatively short wand.

Harry waved it once, but nothing happened.

"This, then," Ollivander said, taking the wand in Harry's hand and replacng it wih another.

Harry tried waving the wand and was relieved when he had proof that he wasn't a squib--loud popping noises ensued and small fires started all around the rooming, dancing mockingly.

"Nope," Ollivander said, removing the wand from Harry's hand. Ollivander disappeared off into his many shelves, making rustling and reorganizing sounds. In the blink of an eye, Ollivander popped up in front of Harry and offered another box.

Harry picked up the wand slightly warily and waved it around. A whirlwind blasted it's way through the cramped store, flipping Ollivander's papers over and toppling several stacks of wand boxes.

"Definitely not," Ollivander said, frowning and snatching the wand away.

Harry sighed.

"Can I try this one?" he asked, pointing to a wand that caught his eye.

Ollivander glanced at it.

"Go ahead," he said, thinking that nothing would happen.

Harry had barely touched the wand when a burst of light came from the tip of the wand, lighting the room. A fiery phoenix shot out of the tip of the wand, soaring across the store before fading away.

Ollivander stared at Harry with a tinge of horror.

"Curious...very, very curious," he murmured, looking at the wand in Harry's hand."

"What's curious?" asked Draco, looking very curious himself.

Ollivander looked away briefly before turning to stare him in the eye.

"I remember every single wand I make and sell. Lucius Malfoy. Elm with a dragon heart string core, eleven inches. Rather inflexible," Ollivander paused, remnicsing. "Narcissa Black. Made of the silver fir with a core of unicorn hair, 10 inches." (A/N: I had to resort to creating a wand, as I couldn't find any information on this. Unicorn hair because it is the most feminine out of the three cores Ollivander uses, and Silver Fir as the wood because 'The wood of the Fir is beautiful and is often used in making musical instruments and in the interior of buildings' and I thought that fit Narcissa more than any of the other types of wood I read about) Ollivander turned his stare to Harry. "James Potter. Mahogany wood, phoenix feather core, 11 inches, pliable. Excellent for transfiguration, I might add. Lily Evans. Willow with a dragon heartstring core, 10 1/4", slightly swishy. A very nice wand for charm work." Ollivander stopped, breathing in a raspy breath.

"Your wand is holly wood and phoenix feather, eleven inches, nice and supple; an unusual combination," Ollivander paused again. "The phoenix who offered the tail feather that now resides within your wand gave one, and only one, other feather. That feather is inside the wand of the very much feared, though deceased, Dark Lord...." Ollivander fixed Harry with an unreadable stare. "You will do great things, Harry Malfoy. Great indeed..."

Harry and Draco stared at Ollivander with their mouths slightly open.

"That will be 10 Galleons, 3 Sickles and 5 Knuts," Mr. Ollivander said suddenly, holding out his hand. "Good luck at Hogwarts."

As Harry and Draco left, Ollivander turned to his fireplace and tossed in a small pinch of floo powder, calling out "Dumble-" before hesitating and magically putting out his fire. Ollivander tapped his long, spindly fingers on the countertop, thinking of the very curious incident with Harry _Malfoy_.

----

Harry and Draco each happily grasped a new wand, the magical qualities of the wood making their hands and arms tingle slightly.

"What do we have left?" Harry asked Draco, pulling out his Hogwarts' letter. He looked at it, crossing off certain items.

"I think it's just a cauldron, now," Draco said, his eyes shifting. "And the Quidditch store," he tacked on, whispering in a low voice.

Nodding, Harry wandered over to a store called "The Cauldron Shop" with its windows loudly proclaiming that it sold cauldrons of all types.

"Hey Draco, is that _gold_?" Harry asked, pointing to a shiny, golden-colored cauldron. A glinting plaque proudly proclaimed, "100% Pure Gold!"

Draco looked at Harry oddly.

"However shiny it might be, it'd be rather pitiful to have your cauldron melt in the middle of Potions class, wouldn't it?" Draco said, holding back a snicker. "Anyways, the list says pewter."

Harry sighed, and shrugged. "Too much to hope for, I suppose."

The boys went inside the store. It was a very organized one--the cauldrons were neatly organized by type into a magically expanded cabinet that stretched across two of the walls. Prices and types were labeled in easy-to-read handwriting over each of the cabinet doors. Draco went straight to the one labeled "Pewter, Size 2" and (laboriously) removed two of the cauldrons. Harry grabbed one and they gave two galleons to the man sitting with a bored expression behind a desk before leaving.

----

"I want a pet," Harry said to Draco after seeing the Magical Menagerie's animal-filled display window. A particularly eye-catching one was a large, black-and-green snake right at the front window.

Draco paused, his original momentum toward's Quality Quidditch Supplies halted and redirected.

"We're only supposed to bring toads, cats and owls to school," Draco said, looking uncertain (and disgusted by the animals). "Father can..fix...that, but are you sure...?"

Harry flashed a grin and charged into the store, prepared to ask for the snake at the window. Draco followed him in, though Draco seemed to actually notice the horrible smell--and the loud noisy din of the animals. Looking extremely out of place, Draco shifted from one foot to another, breathing through his mouth and looking pained.

Harry, on the other hand, had already located and targeted the shopkeeper.

"The green-and-black snake, please," he said, looking gleefully excited.

The shopkeeper looked at Harry dubiously.

"That's quite a costly pet, dear. It's dangerous to handle, as well. Perhaps I could speak to your parents...?"

Harry shook his head, sighing.

"They'll be fine. How much?" Harry asked, impatiently bouncing on his toes.

"Hrm. Twenty-seven galleons for you, then. Might you be interested in any care books? You know that you have to feed it--that one in particular likes rats. And yellow puffskeins, though I don't recommend you give those to him."

Harry grinned, nodding.

"The most basic care books, please, and I'm sure feeding won't be a problem."

Paying for the snake, Harry took ahold of the snake's large cage and lugged it out of the store.

"Look what I have!" Harry said to Draco, lifting up the disgruntled, spreviously-sleeping snake for Draco to see.

Draco gasped and looked a little green upon viewing the size of the snake.

"You know I like snakes and all...but that's a little..." Draco coughed nervously, his eyes not leaving the snake, "bigg. No, very big. That thing could eat me!"

Harry laughed at Draco and turned to look at the snake.

"Do you have a name?" Harry asked, smiling at the snake.

The snake reared its head in shock, black, beady eyes looking at Harry.

"How can you speak the tongue of the snakes, human?" he asked, his diamond-shaped head weaving from side to side.

"What do you mean, 'tongue of the snakes'? I'm speaking English," Harry replied, looking confused.

Harry was interrupted by Draco's startled gasp.

"How come you never told me?" Draco asked, looking hurt.

Harry frowned in confusion.

"Told you what?"

"That you're a parselmouth!" Draco exclaimed.

"Parcel-mouth? What's a parcel-mouth?" Harry asked, looking more and more confused.

"You can talk to snakes, dummy," Draco said, annoyed now. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"Um...I can talk to snakes?"

Draco looked at Harry incredulously.

"Wait, you can't understand what the snake was saying?"

Draco stared at Harry a bit more.

Harry stared at Draco in return.

"Don't do that in front of people," Draco said, frowning at Harry and looking around a little nervously. "Parseltongue is considered Dark, because the Dark Lord can speak to snakes too."

Harry sighed.

"Why do the weird things always happen to me?" Harry said, frowning up in the sky helplessly.

"It's not a bad thing," Draco said, patting Harry on the back. "I'd like to speak to snakes. But yes, keep it a secret."

Harry sighed again.

"On a lighter note, your...snake-purchasing reminded me; I should purchase a pet today, too. I think I'm going to get an owl," Draco said, walking towards Eyelops Owl Emporium.

Harry followed Draco into a darkish, quiet room. Eerie hoots echoed through the store, and many, many pairs of glowing eyes blinked in the dark.

"I think I should get a snowy owl, don't you, Harry?" Draco whispered, not wanting to ruin the quiet serenity of the store. Quite a few other Hogwarts' students were in the store as well, looking at owls.

"Sure," Harry replied, looking for a suitable owl. "How about that one?" he asked, pointing to an almost all-white owl with a few scattered grayish flecks at her wingtips.

"Perfect," was Draco's quiet reply, as he informed the shopkeeper about his decision. "What should I name her?"

Harry stood in quiet thought for a while, thinking of possible names.

"How about Hedwig?"

Draco looked at Harry oddly.

"That's a rather odd name, don't you think?" Draco said, pursing his lips. "But I like it. Hedwig it is."

Draco received the snowy white owl in a cage and carried her out into the bright daylight.

"We have half an hour before Father returns to pick us up. Let's go to Quality Quidditch Supplies!" Draco said gleefully, his eyes glinting crazily.

Running towards the store, Draco pushed past the crowd of mostly-male Quidditch fans crowded around the window display. Harry, after painstakingly following (with a rather large amount of "excuse me"s) managed to make his way into the store as well.

"The Nimbus 2000," Draco said, pointing at a broom with wide eyes. "The newest model."

Harry looked at Draco and the broom dubiously.

"That's nice?" Harry said, wondering why the broom was so special. "It's...shiny...?"

Draco, ignoring Harry, turned to look at a broom catalogue.

"The Nimbus 2001 is coming out next year, and will probably be the same price as the 2000 is now," Harry pointed out, looking over Draco's shoulder. "We can't join the Quidditch team this year anyways, so why bother buying a broom?"

Draco sighed, shaking his head at Harry's hopelessness.

"It's a _broom_, Harry. The newest model! How could you not want it?"

Harry looked at Draco blankly.

"Pfft," Draco said with a sigh, turning away and grabbing a Deuxe Broom Repair and Care kit from a shelf and walking up to the counter to pay for it.

"I'm done. See anything interesting?" Draco asked Harry, who was looking at a book on charming brooms.

"No," Harry said, shaking his head. "Lucius should be about ready to pick us up, I think."

Draco nodded and the two, picking up their substantial purchases, left the store.


	7. Platform 9 and 34

_11 Nov 2008 A/N: Haha, I came up with a half-hearted lame excuse for my absence. Well, I found two betas, but then they had rl problems, and then I didn't have betas anymore. Beautiful story, isn't it? Anyways, it made me lazy (don't ask how) but I'm publishing now! Oh yeah, but I still need a beta. Or two. It's a rather short chapter, but bear with me._

_Thanks to the following for adding or reviewing: lonleyfairy, Tiffany's Hogwarts Secrets, power214063, nxkris, JBF, Heart of a Slytherin, pottermania bis, Anira De'Ember, laica-27, Zelia, Carscard, BBHarry, dsfjr1190, rosegraceblack, ChosenOne23, Johnny-on-the-spot, grala, MissisChrissy, songmuyang, ramakrishna, LadyAlston, DiantheHUNTRESS, danielle72679, jabarber69, kinowolfiehead_

**Chapter Seven: Platform Nine and Three Quarters**

September Second.

This day meant many different things for many different families.

For most muggles, it meant the beginning of the school year.

For the Weasleys, it meant panic and mayhem.

For the Grangers, it meant the beginning of a new adventure--filled with a mixture of excitement and nervous anticipation.

For the Longbottoms, it meant the beginning of a magical education they thought Neville would never end up receiving.

For the Parkinsons, it meant the temporary loss of a loved daughter.

For the Zabinis, it meant more chances for the Zabini matriarch to find another rich husband to kill.

For the Notts, it meant a long-overdue separation between the drunkard father and the bookworm son.

For the Malfoys, it meant the start of an adventure that two young boys were quite impatient for. In fact, on the morning of September the 2nd, those two particular Malfoys had woken up around 4:00 AM.

----

A loud knock interrupted Harry's rushed, 'last-minute' checking of his bags.

"Harry?" Draco called, opening the door. "Oh good, you're awake too."

"Woke up at 3:00, couldn't sleep," Harry explained, his eyes bright despite the ridiculous hour.

"Same," Draco said, looking much more awake than he should have.

"You should check your bags! Don't want to forget anything, do you?" Harry said, flipping through his meticulously packed luggage.

Draco rolled his eyes. "Been there, done that," he said, smirking. "You're fine. It's not as if you didn't spend four hours checking and re-checking your bags. Not to mention the five times you decided that you weren't using the space efficiently enough and re-organized everything."

Harry sighed.

"We're going to Hogwarts!" he said nervously, in an oddly squeaky and high-pitched voice as the actual facts suddenly decided to sink in.

"Why yes, we are. We'll have to make sure we go down in the history books," Draco said, his mind lost in daydreams (or sky-is-still-dark dreams) of how he could wreak havoc on Hogwarts.

----

Finally, after several hours of staring impatiently at the ticking clock (for Draco and Harry) and being suddenly awakened by loud, crashing noises and pointless attempts at returning to sleep (for Lucius and Narcissa), the Malfoys were all about ready to leave for Platform Three and Four Quarters.

Everything had been loaded into their supposed places, and Lucius and Narcissa apparated the two (and all their belongings) to Platform 3/4.

----

"This is a rather dirty and old train station for the Hogwarts Express, don't you think?" Harry mumbled to Draco, a large cart full of all his belongings in front of him. His snake, which named himself Noxe, was sleeping off a meal of house rat in his cage.

Draco nodded in agreement, scowling at all the muggles--and a few grimy looking, tattered-clothes-wearing people snoring on benches, hugging all their belongings in plastic shopping bags.

As they walked in a little cluster of four following Lucius' lead, it was rather sudden and strange when Narcissa suddenly disappeared into a brick wall. Draco paused before realizing what was happening, and he followed Narcissa through the wall.

Harry stared blankly at the empty space where they had all been before Lucius walked into the brick wall and disappeared as well, leaving Harry alone in the muggle train station with only his pet snake as company. Harry looked around helplessly before spotting a mob of redheads muttering about the oddities of muggles. His hope sparking, Harry walked over to the large family.

"Hello, I was wondering if any of you could help me out a bit," Harry began, smiling and feeling silly.

"Of course!" the slightly plump, very....maternal-looking witch said. "What can we do for you, dear?"

Harry grinned. 'Phew,' he thought, mentally sighing in relief.

"How do I get to the train station? My parents and brother just disappeared, and I'm a bit lost."

Molly smiled at the sweet, innocent child in front of her.

"All you have to do is step through the wall, dear. Watch Fred--"

"I'm George!" the boy--several years older than Harry, it seemed--yelled, running through the brick wall and disappearing from sight. "Honestly, you'd think our own mother would be able to tell," he said to Harry conspiratorially.

"Alright, Fred's next, then," the witch said, rolling her eyes.

"Just kidding mum, I'm George," the twin of the already-gone boy said, grinning and running into non-existence as well.

Harry stared at the empty space curiously, his love for magic ever-increasing.

"All you have to do is walk straight through it, dear. Nothing to it. Don't be afraid of crashing, and don't stop until you're clear. Go on now," the witch said, smiling warmly at Harry.

"Thank you," Harry said, shifting Noxe's cage to a more comfortable position before walking through the wall carefully. The last thing he saw on the muggle side of the wall was a small, redheaded girl peering curiously at him from behind the matronly witch.

Harry winced and opened his eyes to a shiny, scarlet steam engine, crowded around by many people in wizarding robes.

"You couldn't have been any slower, could you?" said Draco, smirking at Harry. "Come on; let's go find an empty compartment."

Narcissa chose that moment to sweep the two into a brief, formal hug--but when she let go, her eyes were slightly watery.

"Don't forget to owl," she said, her voice wavering a little.

"Bye mother," Draco said, sounding bored.

"We won't," said Harry, patting her arm consolingly.

Draco then proceeded to drag Harry off to the train, where they plopped down into the first compartment they found. Harry looked out the window and waved to Lucius, who nodded back. Scanning the crowd outside, Harry smiled to himself as he appreciated, once again, his possession of a family. Many parents bid teary farewells to their children, who seemed more excited than sad to be getting away. His eyes were drawn to the nice, red-haired witch who had helped him earlier, who appeared to be viciously rubbing the nose of a red-haired boy about Harry's age. Harry watched as the twins--Fred and George, he recalled--and an uptight-looking, also red-haired boy joined them.

"What are you looking at?" Draco asked, joining Harry's window-watching.

"The red-haired family," Harry said, pointing at them. "I talked to them a bit right after you left."

"Those are the Weasleys," Draco said, following Harry's line of sight with contempt. "Dirt poor, and with no class at all. Remember Gringotts?"

Harry frowned, his gaze now catching on the tattered robes, the still-dirty nose of one of the boys, and the scuffed shoes.

"Yeah, I do," Harry replied, turning to face Draco. "They're purebloods, though, aren't they?"

"Blood-traitors," Draco replied, scowling. "Lower than mudbloods--maybe even lower than muggles."

"Could you two keep it down?" a dark-brown head asked, a scowl heard through his voice. Theodore Nott looked up at the two from his large book titled The Magical History of Rome.

Harry blinked, wondering where he had come from.

"Hi, Theo," Draco said, smiling.

The compartment door opened, a black-haired head poking in to look at the members of the compartment before the owner of that head squealed and clapped.

"Draco!" the girl said in a high pitched voice, rushing in and giving the boy a hug.

"Hi Harry!" she said, turning to Harry and plopping down between him and Draco.

Harry flinched. "Er...hi Pansy."

Pansy Parkinson grinned.

"I can't wait for the sorting ceremony!" she said, bouncing in her seat. "Obviously I'll be placed in Slytherin--"

"Can you imagine being sorted into Hufflepuff? Or worse, Gryffindor!" Draco cut in, looking ill.

"-Horrible, I know. Did your parents tell you what the Sorting Ceremony was?" Pansy asked, frowning. "Mother said she wanted me to be surprised. I almost got it out of Father, but Mother came in just as he reached the important part."

"I don't know..." Draco said, tapping his chin.

"Lucius mentioned an 'old rag', but then Narcissa hit him and told him to be quiet," Harry said thoughtfully, his curiosity piqued as well.

They sat in pondering silence for a moment.

"Gryffindor's Hat," Theo said, not looking up from his book.

"What?" three confused voices replied, all eyes on Theodore now.

"Gryffindor's Hat sorts us," Theo said, rolling his eyes and sighing. "Honestly. It's in Hogwarts, A History, chapter 2."

"Who reads that?" Draco asked, staring at Theo oddly.

The compartment door smacked opened before Theo had a chance to reply, revealing a bushy-haired girl.

"Have any of you seen a toad?" she demanded, her hands on her hips. "A boy lost his."

"Who are _you_?" Draco replied coldly, sneering.

The girl blinked before she stuck out her hand begrudgingly. "Hermione Granger."

Draco visibly recoiled, looking disgusted. "As if I'd willingly touch a mudblood like you," he said, scowling."

"If you'd leave," Draco said, opening the compartment door and glaring at Hermione.

She gasped indignantly before stomping angrily out into the hall.

Draco sat down, shuddering slightly. Pansy nodded in empathy, patting his arm.

"HAH!" a voice triumphantly exclaimed, right before the compartment door swung open quickly and Blaise Zabini ran in.

"I finally found you! Do you know what I had to endure up to now? No, of course you don't. You are all too busy being sane in here, aren't you? But _no_, Blaise doesn't matter, huh? Just leave him with two drooling people for a couple hours, he'll be okay." Blaise stood in front of them, twitching a little.

Harry blinked.

Blaise paused, seeming to forget what he was doing.

"Oh right. We're arriving in 20 minutes; it'd probably be a good idea to change."

By the time they were all done (Pansy demanded that they all leave the compartment so she could change), Hogwarts' grounds were coming into sight. The train pulled to a smooth stop, two shrill toots signaling that the students could exit the train. Filled with both anticipation and nervous anxiety, Harry and Draco prepared to experience the magic of Hogwarts.


	8. Author's Note

Hey guys! Sorry about the utter lack of updates. I was trying to write the other day, and discovered that, with where the story is going, I'll be stuck in a chapter or two and the fic will probably end up abandoned. I actually have some really good end-of-story plot ideas, and would rather reach them than ditch Dumbledore's Mistake…so I'm going to make a new version of Dumbledore's Mistake. The first chapter is already posted, and the title of the story is the same. There will be some similarities (for example, the first chapter will remain mostly the same) but also some key differences. I actually have a plot line this time around, so updates should be faster and (hopefully) longer. I'm sorry about any confusion this may have caused, but I really can't continue with this story as it is…it isn't working.

I already have a couple pages of outline set up, so don't worry. However, I do have finals coming up, so there probably won't be updates for a while--soon, I promise! x3 Alright, I'm looking forward to Dumbledore's Mistake 2.0 and I'll work much harder on it than I did with this version.

Thanks for waiting!

/turayza


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